Arlington Is the Fittest City in America

Arlington has been named the fittest city in America, according to the 2018 American Fitness Index ranking from the American College of Sports Medicine. The Northern Virginia jurisdiction eeked out a win over last year’s champ, Minneapolis, by just a half point, with an overall score of 77.7. Minneapolis came in second with a score of 77.2. DC, reigning fitness hub for three years straight until Minneapolis booted it to second last year, tumbled to third with a flat score of 74.

The index found that Arlington residents had the lowest smoking rate and highest reports of “very good” or “excellent” health compared to 99 other communities. The urban suburb also scored high for healthy behaviors and community infrastructure. It scored fourth for “personal health,” which is determined by how much people exercise, eat fruits and vegetables, and sleep, as well as the prevalence of chronic health problems in the region. It came in fifth for “community indicators,” or how much people bike to work, its walkability score, and the number of farmers markets per capita.

This adds to the already solid year of glowing health and fitness rankings for Northern Virginia. In March, Falls Church was named the healthiest community in the US, according to the U.S. News & World Report. Fairfax City and Loudoun County also made the top ten, scoring sixth and tenth, respectively.